The Queensland Maroons will go for a fourth series win in five years on Wednesday evening, but the ever brutal demands of State of Origin mean the player pathways is always going to be explored beyond the current side.
The Queensland side also have some players at the back-end of their Origin careers.
Kurt Capewell could be in his swansong series, Cameron Munster, joking as he may have been after Game 2, indicated he knows his time is closer to the end than the start, and even then, Billy Slater has made it clear during his time coaching he has no hesitation making an enormous call if he thinks it needs to be made.
Queensland do have some excellent young talent on the way through, and others who could well have made an argument to play this year.
Here are the most likely players to debut next year for the Maroons.
7. Jack Howarth (Melbourne Storm)
Howarth was apparently in the mix for a debut in this year's series-opener, but ultimately fell out of favour late with Billy Slater.
The Storm star, who was one of the most talented kids of his age group as he shot through the junior pathways, is a former junior Origin representative with Queensland.
Injuries have hampered his progress with the Storm to the point reports suggest they are open to him leaving at the end of the year, but his enormous talent and potential has been on display more than once at NRL level.
Likely needs a big start to 2026 to be in the mix, but he isn't all that far down the pecking order, and his ability to play both the centre and second-row rolls could make him a handy prospect for the bench in the modern game.
